Fun Show!

All The Cool Kids are telling their gun show stories today--so here's mine. 

So, Mrs. Drang was feeling well enough--and probably kinda wiped out, though I didn't ask--that she told me to go to the gun show today without her.

Now, as is often the case, our gun show is conducted at a fairgrounds, specifically, the Western Washington fairgrounds in Puyallup. There is normally one a month--except for actual fair month--and it takes up one of the larger buildings there; actually it takes up the large hall in that building, not the smaller spaces in back.

This time, they filled the building. (Since September is Fair Month, and they did not have a show in August this year, since past experience telling that that August is a and month for a gun show anyway.)

Now, if one is a member of the Washington Arms Collectors, one can proceed through the gate, after assuring the guards that one has no loaded firearms or cameras.

If one is not a member (or is a member who forgot his badge) one must pay the admission fee. (If you join, the fee is refunded.)

So, I arrived in Puyallup at about 10:00 AM, and saw a line stretching halfway down the block, probably more than a quarter mile long.  My first thought was that the show was somewhere else, then that there was some sort of problem and they hadn't opened yet.  Then I realized that the parking lot was almost completely full.

Turns out, they sold an awful lot of memberships today:  What I was seeing was non-members waiting to buy their tickets...

Too bad about the "no camera" rule, by the way, this was also the weekend for the military vehicle collectors clubs to participate, and also for the annual "Best Display" competition.  Lots of drool-inducing collections there.  (The rule was introduced after journalists started showing up and trying to entrap show-goers...)

So, lots more people than usual, but really, so many of them were in line to join, the show itself never seemed too bad.  Granted, it was harder than usual to get near some tables, but overall, not too bad.

(And I don't know what the guys out front complaining about how "rude" everybody was were talking about. Even the talk about Obama was usually done with a laugh.)

Lots of ammo there, though the scarce calibers are still scarce--.380, for example. Picked up an "arsenal pack" of .22, since we were running short.  (And I had to explain the "500 rounds=arsenal" comment to Mrs. Drang.)  Picked up Rawles' new "survival guide" from the table* that always sells what I sometimes refer to as "tinfoil hat literature."  (A few bucks more than ordering it direct, but no shipping and handling, or sales taxes.)   Didn't actually fondle any guns--the crowds at the tables selling stuff I want and have a realistic chance of being able to afford were too deep.

I'm sure the crowds  did nothing to convince most dealers that it was a lousy show, never sell enough to make it worth while--except for the ammo dealers, of course--and I don't know why I come here...

Me, I think Obama is going to make Gun Dealer Of The Year two years running...

Outside, I marveled at the fact someone would want a milsurp HMMWV, although I suppose, having turned it into a monster truck would make tightening the half shaft bolts (a twice daily chore during operations) easier.  No Mechanical Mules this year, last year they had several, including a couple with 106mm recoilless rifles mounted. (Oddly--or not--I have never seen a Gamma Goat at one of these...)

And I cannot imagine the juice it takes to own your own self-propelled howitzer...

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*You know, guys from a big, square state to the east of here, who belong to a group of private citizens who are more-or-less organized for para-military mutual defensive operations.  I think they fund themselves by selling The End Of The World As We Know It books at gun shows...